(1) Theology of Exodus: Salvation, Freedom from Bondage “I am the Lord , and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment” (Exod 6:6). So-called liberation theology often misunderstands Exodus. [1] The book is not about liberation in general or about political and religious freedom in particular, but about deliverance from bad servitude to good servitude . The Israelites served ( ʾābad ) Pharaoh but were called by God to serve (again, ʾābad ) him instead. [2] It was not a question of needing freedom from being under the control of a national leader; it was a question of a good, divine national (and universal) leader rescuing his chosen people from a bad, human national leader. The threat of bondage to a hostile great power is one of the curses of the Old Testament. Once the Israelites arrived at Sinai, they were reminded of the horrors of se...

Church Membership Is Functioning Membership Do you know how to remain a member of a country club? Pay your dues. Do that and people will be available to serve you. Do you know how to remain a biblical member of a church? Give abundantly and serve without hesitation. Note the italicized word: biblical. Sure, you can remain on the rolls of many churches and never show up or give. You can remain an “active” member in other churches by being a CEO Christian: Christmas and Easter Only. You can even be a revered member in a number of churches by giving a nice sum to the church each year, even though you never lift a finger in service or ministry. But please understand. That type of membership is not biblical membership. That approach to membership is man-made, man-centered, and man-maintained. It is totally contrary to what the Bible teaches. It has no place in our churches. Biblical church membership gives without qualification. Biblical membership views the tithes and offerings ...

Sam Storms has responded recently to the issue of Planned Parenthood and questions surrounding those who die in infancy.  ------------------------ Recent revelatory videos about the practices of Planned Parenthood have stirred many to ask about the eternal destiny of these precious unborn babies. So are those who die in infancy lost? The same question applies to those who live beyond infancy but, because of mental disability or some other handicap, are incapable of moral discernment, deliberation, or volition. This is more than a theoretical issue designed for speculation. It touches one of the most emotionally and spiritually unsettling experiences in all of life: the loss of a young child. The view I embrace is that  all  those who die in infancy, as well as those so mentally incapacitated they’re incapable of making an informed choice, are among the elect of God, chosen for salvation before the world began. The evidence for this view is s...

We, too, find it all too easy to forget that everything about our salvation, and all of our good works, are gifts of grace, not of our own success—that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8–10).  We need to remember that we are saved by grace when we fail. But we need to remember it much more when we succeed. Keller, T. (2013). Judges for You (pp. 96–97). Purcellville, VA: The Good Book Company.

Thousands of people have entered churches without discovering a vital experience with Jesus Christ. The substitutes have been handed them in the guise of religious rituals, good works, community effort, or social reform . . . none of which can gain a person a right relationship with God. Graham, F., & Toney, D. L. (2011). Billy graham in quotes. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.